SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

”Then there are things you need to understand.”

Trafalgar let the words sit for a moment. He had no intention of telling Darian everything. There were parts of House Morgain that stayed inside House Morgain, and until he understood the whole of what was happening himself, spreading every detail around would be stupid. But Darian needed enough to see why Maeron’s offer was worth this much of anyone’s afternoon.

”Things inside my family aren’t stable,” Trafalgar said. ”They haven’t been for a long time, but lately it’s getting worse. There are too many people pulling in different directions, too many old problems that were never really solved, and eventually something is going to give.”

Darian’s expression stayed serious. ”How bad are we talking?”

”Bad enough that I’m considering the possibility of an internal war.”

Maris stopped with her cup halfway toward her mouth. Cynthia had already known where Trafalgar’s thoughts were heading, so her reaction was smaller, and Rhosyn barely moved at all, though her attention narrowed on him at once.

Darian stared at Trafalgar for several seconds. ”Inside House Morgain itself?”

”Yes.”

”Between who?”

”That’s where it gets complicated.” Trafalgar leaned back slightly. ”I don’t know exactly what the sides will look like yet, and I’d rather not pretend I do. There are too many people involved, and everyone has their own interests.” He paused before continuing. ”But Maeron reaching outside the family changes things.”

Cynthia nodded beside him. ”If he’s already looking for support from another Great Family, then whatever he’s preparing probably isn’t small.”

Darian looked toward her, and she continued. ”You don’t approach House Thal’zar in secret because you need help winning an argument at dinner. Especially after everything that happened between your families.”

”That’s what concerns me,” Trafalgar said. ”Maeron isn’t stupid. He knows exactly how dangerous it is to leave a trail outside Morgain territory.”

Maris lowered her cup again. ”Then perhaps he believes whatever he gains is worth the risk.”

”Exactly.”

Darian’s striped tail shifted slowly behind his chair. ”Do you think he approached us because he expects the fighting to start soon?”

Trafalgar considered the question. ”I don’t know if soon means months or years. With my family, things can stay quiet for a long time and then change in one day.” He rubbed his thumb once against the side of his hand. ”But I don’t think this is something he started doing without a reason.”

Rhosyn finally joined the conversation. ”If Maeron only wanted political influence, there would be easier ways to get it.”

Everyone looked toward her, and she went on in the same even voice. ”He could build relationships publicly. Trade favours. Support Darian in a Council and expect support later. Approaching dissatisfied members of House Thal’zar first, then moving toward Darian when that failed, suggests he wanted something he couldn’t ask for openly.”

Darian gave a slow nod. ”That’s more or less what Varek and I thought.”

”And if he wanted your military support,” Rhosyn added, ”then Trafalgar’s concern becomes much more reasonable.”

Maris shifted slightly in her chair. ”We still don’t know that he wanted soldiers.”

”No,” Rhosyn agreed. ”But he wanted something important enough to hide.”

Trafalgar glanced toward her, because that was the whole problem in one sentence. Darian looked back at him. ”Does Valttair know Maeron is doing this?”

”I don’t know.”

That answer clearly caught Darian off guard, and Trafalgar continued before he could ask. ”Valttair knows more than most people think he does, but I’m not going to assume he knows this until I have a reason to. And even if he does, I don’t know whether he’s allowing it, watching it, or simply waiting to see where Maeron goes.”

Cynthia leaned slightly into the sofa. ”Which means telling him immediately could also be a mistake.”

Darian looked toward her again. ”Why?”

”Because if Maeron thinks nobody knows, he’ll keep moving.”

Trafalgar smiled faintly. ”Exactly.”

Maris understood a second later. ”You want to see what else he does.”

”I want to know what he’s building before I kick the table over.”

Darian went quiet, and Trafalgar could almost watch him reorganising the situation in his head. House Morgain had always been dangerous from the outside. One of the Eight Great Families, led by Valttair, full of monsters who had survived generations of conflict. A House Morgain fighting itself was something else entirely.

”If that really happens...” Darian began, his expression tightening. ”Then what Maeron is doing becomes even stranger.”

”That’s the part that bothers me,” Trafalgar said.

Darian leaned back slightly, thinking it through. ”The agreements between the Eight exist for a reason. If House Morgain tears itself apart internally, the rest of us can’t simply choose a side and send soldiers because we prefer one heir over another. That would open the door for every Great Family to interfere whenever another one shows weakness.”

”And probably destroy half the peace agreements keeping the Eight from constantly going to war,” Cynthia added.

”Which is exactly why this worries me,” Trafalgar said. ”Maeron knows those rules as well as anyone. If he’s secretly approaching another Great House anyway, then either he’s willing to take a ridiculous risk...”

Rhosyn finished the thought. ”Or he believes he’ll need something important enough to justify it.”

The room grew quieter after that. Maris looked toward Darian. ”Accepting his proposal without knowing what he intends could put House Thal’zar in a dangerous position as well. If he later used our support in an internal Morgain conflict, saying we didn’t know what he was planning wouldn’t necessarily protect us.”

”No,” Darian agreed. ”Especially if there were already private agreements between us beforehand.”

Trafalgar nodded, because that was the ugly heart of it. Maeron wasn’t asking a merchant house for money or reaching toward some minor noble for a few soldiers. House Thal’zar was one of the Eight Great Families, and any secret agreement involving its political or military support carried weight far beyond the people sitting in this room.

Cynthia rested one arm along the sofa. ”Which also explains why he hasn’t told you exactly what he wants yet. Getting Darian to agree to cooperation first gives him something to work with before he reveals the dangerous part.”

”Assuming there is a dangerous part,” Maris said.

”There is,” Trafalgar replied. ”I just don’t know what it is yet.”

Maris couldn’t really argue with that. Rhosyn looked toward Darian. ”And if Maeron only wanted an ordinary relationship with House Thal’zar, there’d be no reason to hide it. Great Families make agreements all the time. The secrecy is what makes this different.”

Darian’s striped tail moved slowly behind his chair. ”So you think this is connected to whatever is happening inside House Morgain.”

”I think the timing is too convenient to ignore.” Trafalgar leaned forward slightly. ”I’m not saying Maeron is planning to start a civil war tomorrow. I don’t even know exactly what side everyone would take if things reached that point.” He paused. ”But if he’s already looking outside the family for support, I want to know why before anyone gives him an answer.”

Maris nodded. ”That was already why I wanted Darian to wait until he’d spoken with you.”

Darian looked toward Trafalgar. ”And you expect House Thal’zar to stay out of whatever happens?”

”For now? Absolutely.” Trafalgar’s answer came easily. ”Getting involved without knowing what Maeron wants would be stupid, and I’d rather not watch your family recover from one disaster only to get dragged into another because my brother offered you something attractive.”

Darian gave him a faint look. ”That’s surprisingly considerate.”

”Don’t get used to it.”

Cynthia smiled slightly beside him, and Trafalgar continued, more seriously. ”What I do want is information. Maeron believes you haven’t rejected him yet. That’s useful.”

Darian understood immediately. ”If I refuse now, the conversation ends.”

”Probably.”

Rhosyn added, ”But if he thinks you’re interested, he may eventually have to explain what he’s actually asking House Thal’zar to support.”

Maris looked between them. ”Which would tell us whether this really has anything to do with the situation inside Morgain.”

”And how far Maeron is willing to go,” Trafalgar said.

Darian stayed quiet for several seconds, and then a faint smile appeared on his face. ”So what do you want me to do? I still owe your brother an answer, and I’d rather know what game I’m playing before I answer him.”

Trafalgar looked at him for a moment, and laughed. ”Let’s make it interesting.”